ISSUE 15 - April 20, 2012

Legislative overview

Today is the 103rd day of the second regular session of Arizona's 50th Legislature. Hopes for a sine die adjournment by the 100-day deadline established by rule were dashed, as the executive and legislative branches failed to reach an agreement on a budget for 2012-13. To increase the pressure on legislative negotiators to conclude a budget deal, the governor announced on Monday, April 16, that she would not sign any more bills into law until a budget accord is reached. This policy does not apply to those bills that had been transmitted to the Office of the Governor by the time the announcement was made.

Legislative activity during the past week was relatively light, as the universe of viable bills continued to shrink. The deadline for conference committees to meet - originally established as Friday, April 13, and then extended to Tuesday, April 17 - was extended a second time to today, Friday, April 20.

On Monday, April 16, the Pima County Board of Supervisors met to determine a process for the selection of a new state representative to fill the legislative district 29 seat of former Rep. Daniel Patterson, who resigned last week. The process established by the supervisors will culminate in the selection of a new representative on Monday, April 23.

The finalists for the appointment are attorney Nicholas Fontana, aerospace engineer Albert Jordan and union leader Leon Sierra. By state law, the new representative must be a registered independent and live in the district.

Consolidated elections

On Thursday, April 19, the Senate passed HB 2826 (consolidated election dates; political subdivisions) by a vote of 16-13. The bill had previously been defeated in the Senate by a vote of 11-17. The legislation has now been approved by each chamber with the bare minimum number of votes required for passage.

The League strongly opposes the bill (which requires that local elections be held in the fall of even-numbered years) as an unconstitutional and unfunded mandate on cities and towns. This position is reinforced by the recent Supreme Court decision in Tucson v. Arizona, which unambiguously identifies municipal elections as a matter of purely local concern. The League also opposes the bill for a number of other reasons, including: prospective ballot length and voter fatigue; increased costs and voter confusion; unnecessary and harmful delays for certain types of elections; and difficulties associated with all-mail ballots.

The bill now returns to the House, which will be asked to approve the legislation as amended by the Senate. The League urges all cities and towns to contact their representatives to urge a NO vote on HB 2826 when it is brought to the House for a final vote.

Firearms

On Tuesday, April 17, the governor vetoed HB 2729 (state regulation of firearms). The bill requires governmental entities to permit guns into public establishments, unless armed personnel and metal detection equipment are installed at the entrances to such establishments. The measure, sponsored by Rep. David Gowan (R-Sierra Vista), also preempts municipalities from having firearms ordinances stricter than state law. The League had formally requested that the bill be rejected by Governor Brewer.

Revenue allocation districts

On Tuesday, April 17, the governor vetoed HB 2469 (revenue allocation districts). The measure, sponsored by Rep. Rick Gray (R-Sun City), authorizes municipalities to form Revenue Allocation Districts, which can pledge increases in both property tax and sales tax revenue to secure bonds issued to benefit the district. In her veto letter, the governor cited several concerns, including: a lack of detail surrounding projects that might be financed with this new mechanism; potential avoidance of constitutional debt limits; and administrative burdens. The League, which supports the measure, continues to work with the sponsor and proponents to address the governor's concerns.

Alarm installation

On Monday, April 16, the House approved HB 2748 (NOW: alarm business; alarm agent; certification) by a vote of 42-14. The bill includes an amendment adopted by a conference committee of senators and representatives appointed to produce a final version of the legislation. On Wednesday, April 18, the sponsor, Representative Amanda Reeve (R-Phoenix), made a successful motion to return the bill to another conference committee to make additional changes. In its current form, the measure provides for the establishment of a statewide certification requirement for alarm businesses and alarm agents, and it preempts further local regulation of alarm installation.

Law enforcement

On Wednesday, April 18, the House passed SB 1212 (law enforcement officers; just cause) by a vote of 55-0. Sponsored by Senator Andy Biggs (R-Gilbert), the bill mandates that the same "just cause" process required for the termination of law enforcement officers be applied to demotions. Language in the bill applying the same process to officer suspensions was stricken by an amendment adopted in the Committee of the Whole.

The League opposes the measure because it limits the authority of municipalities to discipline problematic officers. The amended bill returns to the Senate, which passed its version of the legislation by a vote of 29-0 on February 9.

United Nations Rio declaration

SB 1507 (NOW: United Nations Rio declaration; prohibition) was calendared for consideration by the House Committee of the Whole on Tuesday, April 17. The purpose of the bill is to prohibit the state or its political subdivisions from adopting or implementing "the creed, doctrine, principles or any tenet" of the 1992 United Nations Rio Declaration on Environment and Development.

The League urged all representatives to reject this ill-conceived legislation, based on its ambiguous language, high potential for unintended negative consequences and prospective impacts on municipal initiatives. The bill was subsequently retained on the calendar but could resurface in the House at any time.

Business incentives

On Wednesday, April 18, the House passed SB 1442 (prime contracting; manufacturing facilities; infrastructure) by a vote of 46-10. The measure allows municipalities to recapture state transaction privilege taxes paid by qualified manufacturing facilities for public infrastructure necessary to support those facilities. The bill was amended in the Committee of the Whole to expand the definitions of associated improvement and manufacturing facility. The measure, which is supported by the League as a tool for attracting manufacturing jobs to Arizona, now returns to the Senate to address amendments made in the House.

Traffic control

On Thursday, April 19, the House defeated HB 2557 (NOW: intersection; definition) by a vote of 27-29. The bill redefines the definition of "intersection" in the transportation statutes to make it more difficult to cite drivers for red light violations. Following consideration of the measure, a motion was made and adopted to reconsider the vote in the House on Wednesday, April 25.

Spirituous liquor

HB 2606 (NOW: liquor omnibus) passed the House on April 19 by a vote of 46-11. Among other things, the bill, sponsored by Rep. J.D. Mesnard (R-Chandler), permits the State Liquor Board to consider municipal tax delinquencies in liquor license suspension and revocation proceedings. It further permits a city or town to use the average of the last five years of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for fee increases (as opposed to just the previous year's CPI). The bill now proceeds to the Senate for final consideration.

Legislator profile - Representative Chad Campbell

Representative Chad Campbell
If Representative Chad Campbell appears agitated - a lean mass of nervous energy pacing the House floor in restless motion - there could be several explanations. He could be in high dudgeon concerning some ill-advised legislative proposal or another. As the minority leader of the House, he could be preoccupied with the demanding task of keeping his caucus together. More likely, however, he'd just rather be outdoors.

Canoeing. Rock climbing. Boating. Gliding. Fishing. Snowboarding. Backpacking. Mountain bike riding. Camping. If a pursuit takes place outside and involves physical and mental challenge, then Campbell is good to give it a go. His love of the outdoors, reflecting an insatiable passion for life, is palpable.

No wonder, then, that the newlywed lawmaker tied the knot last year in Kauai, a Hawaiian island of rugged and beauteous adventure. "I was on the island in 2009," Campbell explains, "and I flew along the Na Pali coastline in a one-wing power glider." He later learned that, within a year of this geste, the guide who took him gliding crashed and died. Happily, everyone who participated in his recent wedding at a beach house in Poipu survived to tell the tale.

A first-generation native Arizonan, Campbell describes his own youth as "simple" and "normal". An only child whose parents both worked outside the home, Campbell enjoyed playing team sports, especially football (as a strong safety) and baseball (as a left fielder). He did well in school, developed a robust work ethic and stayed out of trouble. He entered the part-time workforce at age 14 and kept occupied throughout school in a number of jobs in the service, retail and restaurant industries.

By the time he graduated from high school, Campbell had become interested in biology and environmental sciences. Fortuitously, he earned a scholarship to Northern Arizona University, which offered a program combining the two disciplines. "I loved Flagstaff and NAU," Campbell fondly recalls. "I embraced the cold weather and the fantastic outdoor opportunities." Having endured four surgeries on his left knee as a consequence of a skiing accident, however, he has retired from the slopes. Regardless, his attraction to all-weather sports has not abated.

Campbell has always been interested in politics and has ever appreciated the impact that public policy has on people's lives. His father and most of his family were staunch conservatives, dedicated to principles championed by Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan. Over time, he asserts, the Republican Party drifted away from those principles. So it was that, during college, he volunteered for the congressional campaign of former U.S. Representative Karan English (D-Ariz.). It was a heady experience and resulted in his infection with the political bug.

Later, working for an environmental engineering firm, Campbell was exposed to the enormous day-to-day impacts of public policy decisions rendered by political figures. Whether the issue at hand involved site cleanup, the disposal of mining wastes, or project remediation, government was deeply involved. Often, the government's role was problematic, resulting in burdensome regulation and bureaucratic make-work. Campbell knew that government-designed processes could and should be streamlined.

It was against this backdrop that Campbell ran for Phoenix City Council in 2005. Though he lost to an incumbent, he was proud of his campaign and his message. Moreover, he earned a great deal of respect and name recognition, both of which served him well one year later when then-Rep. Bill Brotherton decided not to seek re-election to his District 14 House seat. Campbell was persuaded to run for the central Phoenix district in 2006, and he won handily, repeating the feat in 2008 and 2010.

Campbell affirmatively decries legislative interference with city business. As a matter of course, he opposes the imposition of state mandates on cities and towns. "It's hypocritical for the conservative majority to so fiercely oppose federal mandates," he asserts, "and then impose one-size-fits-all mandates on municipalities." He continues: "Legislators are trying to micromanage all aspects of city government from the Capitol: traffic management, contracting, elections and anything else they can think of. It has to stop."

Though he has been approached by others to consider a congressional run, Campbell does not seem particularly interested in leaving Arizona for the marbled corridors of the United States Capitol. "Washington, D.C. is the political version of Las Vegas," he opines. "Besides," he continues, "we need native Arizonans who know this state and are committed to this state to help run this state." Accordingly, he does not rule out the possibility of a future statewide campaign.

In any event, Campbell's future is as bright as his energy level is high and his enthusiasm is infectious. With his thirst for adventure and his drive to conquer new challenges, it is manifest that Campbell has many more mountains to climb, rapids to run, and canyons to cross - both metaphorically inside the Legislature and literally (and preferably) outside.

Legislative Bulletin is published by the League of Arizona Cities and Towns.
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